[Is moderate labor stress for newborn infants an advantage? Pilot study of postpartum weight gain of 791 newborn infants].

Neonatal weight development in the first 5 postpartal days is favourably affected by intrapartal stress factors. 1. Pathological CTS during delivery were registered for every 8th infant. Slight postpartal weight loss occurred twice as often in this group, compared with the other newborns. The incidence of distinct weight decrease was the same in both groups. On the 5th postpartal day, almost double the number of infants with pathological CTG had either reached or exceeded their birth weight, compared to the normal CTG group. 2. Green amniotic fluid coincided with slight weight loss in double the number of affected children, compared to the rest of the study group. 3. Slight postpartal weight loss was seen more often in neonates with umbilical cord-pH values of up to 7.20 than in infants with pH values exceeding 7.20. Distinct postpartal weight loss was, however, not more frequent in the former group. 4. The birth mode of the 791 newborn was as follows: 16% Caesarean section, 7% vaginal forceps delivery, and 77% spontaneous birth. On the 5th postpartal day 11% of the forceps-delivery infants, 17% of the spontaneous births and 30% of the neonates delivered by Caesarean section had not regained their birth weight. 5. PDA on vaginal delivery was applied to one-third of the women. Slight postpartal weight loss was seen twice as often in these infants, compared to the others. In conclusion, the study reflected, that intrapartal stress aids transition to extrauterine life via "catecholamine peaks". Our current birth monitoring methods may therefore require revalidation with regard to set pathologic limits, using the adaptation parameter of neonatal weight development.